This blog post was written on 9/10/21, a week after Hurricane Ida left a trail of destruction along the east coast.
Last week was an adventure. The destruction in my hometown was unbelievable. Trees down, cornfields with alien-like crop circle paths, piles of carpet and basement belongings on curbs. Sadly, three people were killed within 30 minutes from me as floods and tornados ripped through the area. The power was out for almost 4 days but we muddled through. I am so grateful for the generator we bought a few years ago and had not yet used. Educating you on generators will come in the next few weeks. We are blessed; it could have been much worse.
In 24 years, our basement never flooded, even with past power outages. This volume of rain was unstoppable. We had used our generator for hours during the height of the storm and all was good. I turned if off for a few hours to sleep. Boy, was that a mistake! In a short time, the French drain was overwhelmed and the sump pump overflowed. A watery mess followed. The carpets are done!
Oddly, my neighbor, who also had no running sump pump had no flood. Go figure. Honestly, I am glad we took the hit and not her. She is newly widowed and has had enough to handle this past year.
My neighbor inspired this week’s video. Wednesday night, during the heaviest rain fall, I texted her and asked if she had checked the sump pump. She said, ‘Beth, I hate to say this. I am not sure where it is’. My heart ached. Her husband had always handled the house stuff, like in many families. She never got involved with that kind of stuff and she just didn’t learn how to manage it without him. Sound familiar???
I ran over, literally ran, in the downpour, barefoot to check on things. Her home is a different model than mine so I had to look around for myself. We found it. Under a remnant of carpet, almost filled to the top. I headed back home to hook her pump up to an extension cord on my generator. The water level dropped instantly. I said I would check on her in the morning. Thank God she was still flood free the next day.
There is a lot more to this widow’s tale. I’ll share over time but the moral of the story is…
LADIES, it is time to step up as homeowners. You have to know how your home works. Stop letting someone else steer the ship. It is time to take the wheel.
I am not joking when I say your life could depend on it, especially in crisis situations. Your home is the biggest investment of your life and if you are not caring for it, it may bite you in the behind later. My neighbor was lucky. But please listen to this…
It is better to be Smart, Capable and Confident homeowner than a lucky one!
Watch this lesson on sump pumps. Arm yourself with Knowledge NOW!
